Intriguing & Complex: Althea & Oliver - Cristina Moracho

Goodreads Synopsis: What if you live for the moment when life goes off the rails—and then one day there’s no one left to help you get it back on track?Althea Carter and Oliver McKinley have been best friends since they were six; she’s the fist-fighting instigator to his peacemaker, the artist whose vision balances his scientific bent. Now, as their junior year of high school comes to a close, Althea has begun to want something more than just best-friendship. Oliver, for his part, simply wants life to go back to normal, but when he wakes up one morning with no memory of the past three weeks, he can’t deny any longer that something is seriously wrong with him. And then Althea makes the worst bad decision ever, and her relationship with Oliver is shattered. He leaves town for a clinical study in New York, resolving to repair whatever is broken in his brain, while she gets into her battered Camry and drives up the coast after him, determined to make up for what she’s done.

Their journey will take them from the rooftops, keg parties, and all-ages shows of their North Carolina hometown to the pool halls, punk houses, and hospitals of New York City before they once more stand together and face their chances. Set in the DIY, mix tape, and zine culture of the mid-1990s, Cristina Moracho’s whip-smart debut is an achingly real story about identity, illness, and love—and why bad decisions sometimes feel so good.

I adored Althea & Oliver by Cristina Moracho! It was quirky, fun, and complex I enjoyed every second of it. Althea and Oliver were two great protagonist that made the book shine. Their complex relationship alongside with their budding romance and teenage angst made the perfect for Moracho's premise. The book starts off with Althea and Oliver in their normal routine in their life in Wilmington, North Carolina. Althea struggling with her growing love towards Oliver has herself wanting to be closer to Oliver. Oliver on the other hand is busy falling asleep, never being in the present to spend time with Althea that ultimately hurts their relationship with each other as friends. I was easily able to relate to both Althea and Oliver, they each had their own personality that came off the pages. I loved that Moracho divided some chapters in the book between Althea and Oliver, it was easy to understand what each was going through.One aspect of the novel that makes it so intriguing and complex was the plot and unexpected twists coming from Althea and Oliver. The "bad decision" Althea makes in the beginning of the book was so unexpected, I did not see it coming! But it does add suspense and emotion to the book that sets Althea and Oliver on their own paths.Full of deep emotion and thought with complex, flawed characters. Althea & Oliver explores self-identity and love. And if you love books sets in New York be sure to pick this one up! Definitely enjoyed this book a lot and I cannot wait to see what other books Moracho has in the future!